101 permanent houses groundbreaking marks Marawi liberation day
By UN-Habitat
October 17, 2019
Marawi City: Two years since the liberation of Marawi, a 1.8 hectare build site purchased by the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) breaks ground in Barangay Dulay West in the Islamic City of Marawi as part of the USD 10-million funding of the Japan government for the United Nations Human Settlements Programme’s (UN-Habitat) Rebuilding Marawi through Community-Driven Shelter and Livelihood Project.
This site will host around 101 families from the villages of Saduc Proper, Raya Saduc, South Madaya, and Dagubduban who were displaced as a result of the heavy fighting between insurgents and government security forces in May 2017.
Earlier last week, a groundbreaking ceremony was also held in the National Housing Authority (NHA) site for the construction of 500 houses in Barangay Kilala, Marawi City.
This housing project with the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) was launched through a groundbreaking ceremony held today together with the Board of Directors from SHFC led by its president Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling; and officials from the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development led by Secretary Eduardo del Rosario; Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Alonto Adiong, Jr.; and Marawi Mayor Majul Gandamra.
UN-Habitat Country Programme Manager, Christopher Rollo, said that the construction of the shelter units will be carried out through an approach called the “People’s Process” that places the community’s needs and their rights at the center of their recovery and rehabilitation.
Rollo elaborated that "this project emphasizes the direct involvement of the families or home partners in the decision making and the construction of their shelter units."
“The partner communities underwent a series of workshops to be informed of the best structural design of their houses along with religious and cultural considerations.”
The two-story shelter unit has a total area of 42 square meters and will stand on a 100 square meter lot. Each unit will have a toilet and bathroom, a kitchen, basic electrical lighting and outlets, water lines, drainage, and a sewage piping system.
Each unit can accommodate up to three rooms for eight family members. When the unit is turned over to the designated home partner, he or she can make improvements.
According to Cabling, the partner communities can stay in the land for 99 years under a usufruct agreement, which means that they will not have to pay for the land during that period. But they can also opt to purchase the lot where their house will stand when they gain the capacity to do so.
In marking the second anniversary of Marawi City’s liberation today, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Eduardo del Rosario reiterated the government’s pledge in bringing normalcy back to the city by December 2021 as indicated in their original timeline.
According to Del Rosario, several activities organized by the Task Force Bangon Marawi comprised of 56 member-agencies had been lined up to commemorate the historic event.
He also wants to give importance to the heroism of soldiers who lost their lives during the five-month siege, as well as the resilience of both the government and affected communities. (UN-Habitat)
